The Penguin Guide to Jazz
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 The cover of the eighth edition of the Penguin Guide to Jazz. |
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| Author | Richard Cook Brian Morton |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Penguin Guide |
| Subject(s) | Jazz |
| Genre(s) | Non-fiction Encyclopedic Reference |
| Publisher | Penguin Books |
| Released | November 28, 2006 (8th) September 28, 2004 (7th) January 1, 1995 (2nd) |
| Media type | Paperback |
| Pages | 1728 |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-14-102327-9 (8th) 0141014164 (7th) |
The Penguin Guide to Jazz is a non-fiction book that is an encyclopedic referencing of known jazz albums released on CD.
Contents |
[edit] History
The first edition was released in 1992 and was compiled by Richard Cook and Brian Morton, two well known chroniclers of jazz, and released by Penguin Books. Every two years since then, a new edition is released with added and expanded entries. The eighth edition, released in November 2006, boasts close to two thousand new CD entries.
The title has had different names as well over the years. The seventh editions is known as The Penguin Guide of Jazz on CD while the latest edition is titled The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings.
[edit] Content
Artists are setup alphabetically and include short (usually one paragraph) biographies before showing a complete listing of their discography. Each album includes title, a rating out of four stars, label, musicians on the album, release month and year, and finally a review of varying length.
Two extra features, editor picks (crowns) and "core collections," have been added over the years. The first shows entries flagged by the editors of their personal favorites while the latter are the "more essential" albums. It has been commented in a review that "the implication is that the choices for crowns are subjective, while the Core Collection is somehow more objective."[1]
[edit] Reception
Though each edition doesn't "spring any great surprises," that matters little, since "it has a tried and trusted formula that works." It is also praised as being "of equal value to both experienced jazz listeners and novices."[1]
[edit] References
- ^ a b The Penguin Guide To Jazz Recordings, 8th Edition. Retrieved on November 11, 2006.
